Fivetran vs Informatica PowerCenter comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Fivetran and Informatica PowerCenter based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Data Integration solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed Fivetran vs. Informatica PowerCenter Report (Updated: March 2024).
765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"You can manage all of your connectors individually, which gives you a very good ability to trace which one of your ETL processes is running and when.""Its arrays are powerful enough to handle migrations even when the replication is happening in the background, without causing any trouble with the ongoing traffic.""The portal is very intuitive and easy to use.""The general data ingestion is valuable. It's used for a lot of data. It provides about 90% of the data we use in our data warehouse without needing data engineering.""Fivetran's most valuable feature is replication.""The ease of usability is the most valuable feature. It's very easy and quick to set up. It also has a central hub as opposed to GoldenGate which is one direct interface. For GoldenGate I would have needed three interfaces whereas with HVR I have a central interface that manages everything.""The product is very easy to use and very easy to configure.""Fivetran is remarkably easy to use; I haven't encountered any other data integration tool that is as user-friendly."

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"Complex transformations can be easily achieved by using PowerCenter. The processing layer does transformations and other things. About 80% of my transformations can be achieved by using the middle layer. For the remaining 15% to 20% transformations, I can go in and create stored procedures in the respective databases. Mapplets is the feature through which we can reuse transformations across pipelines. Transformations and caching are the key features that we have been using frequently. Informatica PowerCenter is one of the best solutions or products in the data integration space. We have extensively used PowerCenter for integration purposes. We usually look at the best bridge solution in our architecture so that it can sustain for maybe a couple of years. Usually, we go with the solution that fits best and has proven and time-tested technology.""One of the most valuable features for us is the metadata repository because it can easily understand the lineage of first target mapping. My company and I also find Informatica really easy to use—when a consultant joins our company, in just a few days to a few weeks, they can understand how to use it—so we prefer to use this ETL tool.""Reusable definition of data sources and the out-of-the-box availability of a large number maplets for common transformation functions.""The solution is stable.""The performance and design of Informatica have been very valuable. I find the performance faster than, say, Oracle Data Integrator or DataStage.""It has very good monitoring and process monitoring.""It has helped us monetize.""The setup is straightforward."

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Cons
"The documentation can be laid out better to make it easier to find things, and I really wish there was built-in support for changing passwords. Some features don't work as advertised for the platform/repository database, and HVR is not always the fastest at getting results.""Some of the pain points we're looking at are trying to integrate some of the items in the Microsoft stack, so SharePoint and Excel, and then some of the newer Azure services.""Fivetran is very expensive for data sources with a lot of rows, such as email data. I would like to see cheaper pricing for data sources like that.""More connectors are needed for exotic, popular, and rising star portals.""The connections with SAP must be improved.""HVR Software's technical support could be improved. Whenever we log a case, the response that we get from the support is a bit delayed.""We use a separate tool for "reverse ETL", which is the opposite of what Fivetran does; it pushes data from your data warehouse back out to business applications. If Fivetran pulls data from those same applications, they should also enable users to push it back. I would love to do both ETL and reverse ETL in the same tool.""The documentation is decent, but it's hard to find information online about Fivetran. For example, if you try to search for an error code, you won't find much information about it in forums."

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"Informatica are very rigid when it comes to cloud migrations which discourages customers in moving their solution to the cloud.""The multiple interfaces in Informatica PowerCenter are not great for the user experience. Because of this, I think it can cause confusion for any beginner developer.""I would like to see an improvement in the digital adoption.""The reputation of Informatica is that it is expensive.""The solution could have better documentation on basic steps or blocks that specify what to do.""The solution can improve by providing more connectivity by having native ODBC or JDBC connections available. It will be easier and more people could start using it.""The UI is outdated and old-fashioned, at least in our current version. Also, we have experienced some stability issues with the Workflow Monitor application.""What needs improvement in Informatica PowerCenter is the cloud experience because, nowadays, other companies, such as AWS, Azure, and Google, have more experience in the cloud. The pricing for Informatica PowerCenter on the cloud is also very expensive for customers, so some customers prefer open-source tools or lower-priced tools, such as Azure. From my point of view, Informatica must work on the pricing policy and review the policy on the cloud for Informatica PowerCenter or propose more tools with lower pricing. Clients want the automatic integration of Informatica PowerCenter with other tools. Currently, the integration process is manual, and you have to add other tools to facilitate the integration, especially with the DevOps methodology. You need scripts and tools for the integration, and you'll need to use other integration tools if you want automatic deployment for Informatica PowerCenter, so this is another area for improvement in the solution. What I'd like to see in the next release of the solution is for the integration with APIs to be simpler, because currently, the API integration feature of Informatica PowerCenter is very difficult. It's not intuitive. You have to facilitate API integration and the real-time streaming of messages in Kafka, for example, so that should be improved."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "I don't have the exact information, but I know it is high, and it is on a yearly basis. There is no additional cost for what we're doing. We're always open to doing things cheaper, so we might potentially implement a different solution."
  • "I've heard that the license for HVR is a bit costly compared to its competitors, but since it's reliable and efficient, I think the customer shouldn't be bothered about the cost."
  • "Fivetran is very expensive, and its database-driven pricing model is outdated."
  • "I can't give exact amounts because that's based on usage, but it's more expensive than some of its competitors."
  • "In the first year, we were given a very good discount. It was approximately 20,000 Euros per year. In the third year, we purchased credit for two years and the price was 33,000 Euros per year."
  • "I would say they're a little bit on the expensive side, and their contract process is not particularly good, but there is a lot of potential flexibility."
  • "The pricing model is okay and mid to large companies will not have an issue with it."
  • "The licensing costs are extremely high for the usage of somebody who has one GB or two GB of usage per day for real-time traffic. There are many other players in the market which are similarly priced or competitively priced. On average per month, it used to come around 12,000-15,000 USD, which is very high."
  • More Fivetran Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "We have found the pricing very cost-effective. The licensing is CPU and data source-based."
  • "Cost could be improved."
  • "Licensing is a one time cost. But maintenance costs depend on what you want, how long you need it. Maintenance is a kind of insurance. With health insurance, you don't know whether you will get sick or need to go to hospital or not but you have to have insurance. It's the same thing with support. If you have that expertise in resolving issues, if you have enough experience in your IT department, I would say you don't need the support. But in practice, they recommend you go with the support. If you want support you have to pay for it."
  • "Price-wise, it's more expensive than SSIS, but it's a better tool, so it has more features. Licensing is on a yearly basis."
  • "Its maintenance is expensive."
  • "It's much more expensive, almost three times more expensive than most other solutions."
  • "We are satisfied with the pricing."
  • "I consider this to be an expensive product."
  • More Informatica PowerCenter Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Comparison Review
    Anonymous User
    Technology has made it easier for businesses to organize and manipulate data to get a clearer picture of what’s going on with their business. Notably, ETL tools have made managing huge amounts of data significantly easier and faster, boosting many organizations’ business intelligence operations There are many third-party vendors offering ETL solutions, but two of the most popular are PowerCenter Informatica and Microsoft SSIS (SQL Server Integration Services). Each technology has its advantages but there are also similarities on how they carry out the extract-transform-load processes and only differ in terminologies. If you’re in the process of choosing ETL tools and PowerCenter Informatica and Microsoft SSIS made it to your shortlist, here is a short comparative discussion detailing the differences between the two, as well as their benefits. Package Configuration Most enterprise data integration projects would require the capacity to develop a solution in one platform and test and deploy it in a separate environment without having to manually change the established workflow. In order to achieve this seamless movement between two environments, your ETL technology should allow the dynamic update of the project’s properties using the content or a parameter file or configuration. Both Informatica and SSIS support this functionality using different methodologies. In Informatica, every session can have more than one source and one or more destination connections. There are… Read more →
    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:As a user of HVR Software I followed this deal closely. Fivetran is apparently trying to establish more in its sector and by buying an already established data replication software, they become some… more »
    Top Answer: I honestly can't think of another data replication software that can give you better statistics and insight than HVR Software. There's the feature for topology and statistics and both of them can… more »
    Top Answer:As someone who works at a company where a high volume of information is replicated and has tried several data replication softwares, I can tell you that you're looking at the right one. HVR Software… more »
    Top Answer:Azure Data Factory is flexible, modular, and works well. In terms of cost, it is not too pricey. It offers the stability and reliability I am looking for, good scalability, and is easy to set up and… more »
    Top Answer:SSIS PowerPack is a group of drag and drop connectors for Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services, commonly called SSIS. The collection helps organizations boost productivity with code-free… more »
    Top Answer:Complex transformations can easily be achieved using PowerCenter, which has all the features and tools to establish a real data governance strategy. Additionally, PowerCenter is able to manage huge… more »
    Ranking
    13th
    out of 94 in Data Integration
    Views
    4,380
    Comparisons
    2,957
    Reviews
    15
    Average Words per Review
    603
    Rating
    8.0
    3rd
    out of 94 in Data Integration
    Views
    20,419
    Comparisons
    16,998
    Reviews
    30
    Average Words per Review
    472
    Rating
    7.6
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    PowerCenter
    Learn More
    Overview

    Fivetran is a data integration and migration solution that centralizes data from various sources into a data warehouse (such as Snowflake or BigQuery) for analytics. Its most valuable features include replication and managed pipelines, integration with DBT for data transformation, and many source connections. 

    Fivetran is easy to use, with fast data migration and an intuitive portal for easy setup and troubleshooting. It has helped organizations integrate and manage data, saving time and resources.

    Informatica PowerCenter is a data integration and data visualization tool. The solution works as an enterprise data integration platform that helps organizations access, transform, and integrate data from various systems. The product is designed to support companies in the full cycle of a project, from its initial rollout to critical deployments. Informatica PowerCenter allows developers and analysts to collaborate while accelerating the work process to deploy projects within days instead of months.

    The Advanced edition of the product provides an additional real-time engine which allows companies to have always-on enterprise data integration. This ensures seamless collaboration and increment of data lineage visibility and impacts analysis.

    The Premium edition of the solution offers an early warning system that detects unexpected behaviors or incorrect utilization of resources in the workflows and alerts companies in the case that these occur. This version of the product also offers automatic data validation, which ensures data accuracy and reduces testing time and expenditure of resources for by up to 90%.

    Informatica PowerCenter Features

    The product provides users with various features which allow them to execute data integration initiatives such as analytics, data warehousing, data governance, consolidation, and application migration. The features of the solution include:

    • Collaboration: Informatica PowerCenter offers role-based tools and processes which enable business self-service while benefiting from high-quality IT resources.

    • Automation: Through various automations and easy-to-use software, users can utilize graphical and codeless tools and initiate effective data integration without additional knowledge.

    • Scalability: The tool provides high scalability to users, which ensures seamless performance and minimum downtime. PowerCenter also has adaptive load balancing, pushdown optimization, and dynamic partitioning.

    • Monitoring: Through the extensive monitoring feature, the operations and governance of the solution are easily overseen by users. The tool also provides alerts that can prevent damage to the system.

    • Real-time data: Through real-time data, users can monitor applications and analytics, ensuring their efficient operation.

    • Prototyping: Informatica lets its users collaborate with information technology to prototype, profile, and validate results in a timely manner.

    • Connectivity: Users can access and integrate data from different types of sources through high-performance connectors.

    • Automated data validation testing: The product offers script-free automated and repeatable audit and validation of data.

    • Data transformation: This feature allows users to use comprehensive parsing of JSON, PDF, XML, Microsoft Office, and the Internet of Things (IoT) for non-relation data.

    • Cloud applications connectivity: The product allows for seamless connection to cloud application sources and targets.

    Informatica PowerCenter Benefits

    The benefits of using Informatica PowerCenter include:

    • The tool can work over a wide range of systems and platforms and also allows for lean integration.

    • It enhances the quality and speed of performance and optimizes the cost of the process for your organization.

    • PowerCenter supports multiple databases, including TPump, Parallel Transporter Fastload, and Teradata MLoad.

    • The tool is very easy to monitor and maintain, which simplifies the data integration process for companies.

    • The centralized error logging system allows users to locate errors in a timely manner and correct them.

    • The tool can convert data from an application to another format, as it serves as one of the most powerful data transformation solutions.

    • PowerCenter can also serve as middleware between two applications.

    • The solution offers both parallel processing and load balancing.

    • PowerCenter is a tool with a high level of security, which also minimizes essential administration activities.

    • The solution ensures the quality of information, as it does not allow invalid or unwanted data to be uploaded to the source.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Yahya T., a developer and architect at L'Oreal, says the product is stable, provides good support, and integrating it with other systems is very fast.

    Mohamed E., a senior manager for Data management and data governance at a tech company, says PowerCenter is stable, mature, and offers flexibility in building the pipeline and has a drag-and-drop mode because it's GUI-based; technical support is brilliant.

    Sample Customers
    DocuSign, Oldcastle Infrastructure, Crossmedia, Talkdesk, Chubbies, Brandwatch
    University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, LexisNexis, Rabobank
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Manufacturing Company45%
    Outsourcing Company18%
    Transportation Company9%
    Financial Services Firm9%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization24%
    Computer Software Company12%
    Financial Services Firm11%
    Manufacturing Company9%
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company22%
    Financial Services Firm20%
    Insurance Company7%
    Retailer7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Financial Services Firm18%
    Computer Software Company12%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    Insurance Company7%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business9%
    Midsize Enterprise26%
    Large Enterprise65%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business14%
    Midsize Enterprise30%
    Large Enterprise57%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business15%
    Midsize Enterprise11%
    Large Enterprise74%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business15%
    Midsize Enterprise11%
    Large Enterprise74%
    Buyer's Guide
    Fivetran vs. Informatica PowerCenter
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Fivetran vs. Informatica PowerCenter and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Fivetran is ranked 13th in Data Integration with 19 reviews while Informatica PowerCenter is ranked 3rd in Data Integration with 78 reviews. Fivetran is rated 8.0, while Informatica PowerCenter is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of Fivetran writes "Solution reduces time-to-value; high ROI". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Informatica PowerCenter writes "Stable, provides good support, and integrating it with other systems is very fast, but its pricing is expensive". Fivetran is most compared with AWS Database Migration Service, Qlik Replicate, Informatica Cloud Data Integration, Azure Data Factory and Matillion ETL, whereas Informatica PowerCenter is most compared with Informatica Cloud Data Integration, Azure Data Factory, SSIS, Databricks and AWS Glue. See our Fivetran vs. Informatica PowerCenter report.

    See our list of best Data Integration vendors and best Cloud Data Integration vendors.

    We monitor all Data Integration reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.